Most Democrats, independents oppose defunding Obamacare: poll

A new poll finds that nearly six in 10 voters oppose the idea of cutting funding for Obamacare — despite the law’s continuing unpopularity — and that there is a major partisan divide on the issue, with Democrats and independents opposing the push by a group of conservative Republicans to starve the new law of money.

The August Kaiser Health Tracking Poll shows that more than eight in10 Democrats oppose defunding the Affordable Care Act, compared with more than half of independents and about a third of Republicans.

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The poll also shows that 60 percent of Republicans support defunding the law, while 15 percent of Democrats and 39 percent of independents support the idea.

“While negative views on the law continue to outpace positive ones this month, a majority of the public says they disapprove of cutting off funding as a way to stop the law’s implementation,” the poll found. “The most commonly chosen reason for opposition to defunding the ACA is that ‘using the budget process to stop a law is not the wayour government should work.’”

The Kaiser Health poll showed that 42 percent of those surveyed have an unfavorable view of the law compared with 37 percent that have a favorable view of the law.

The battle over the law, which Mr. Obama signed in 2010, has picked up speed over the summer, as a breakaway group of Republicans is making the case that Congress should not pass any spending bills that include funding for the law — even if that leads to a funding stalemate and a government shutdown.

Open enrollment in state-based health exchanges is scheduled to start Oct. 1.

The poll also showed there is a lot of confusion over whether the law is still on the books, with 8 percent responding that the law was repealed by Congress, 5 percent saying they believe that the Supreme Court overturned the law and 31 percent saying they were uncertain whether the law remains the law of the land.